1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to detecting fraud and more particularly relates to detecting fraud using multiple scan technologies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Retail point of sale (“POS”) devices are often configured to read the characters imprinted on a medium such as a paper check using magnetic ink. The characters typically include bank information such as bank routing numbers and the number of the bank account that the check is drawn upon. The POS device may recognize the characters and communicate the recognized bank information to another POS system such as a cash register or to an enterprise computer system.
The POS system may recognize characters using recognition modules. For example, the POS system may use a magnetic ink character recognition (“MICR”) module to magnetically recognize a character. The MICR module magnetically may include a magnetic scanner, scanning the magnetic ink of the character and decoding the scan to recognize the character. Many POS devices also employ an optical character recognition (“OCR”) module to optically recognize the character. The OCR module may include an optical scanner that optically scans the character. In addition, the OCR module decodes the scan to recognize the character.
The decoded character data comprises recognition results. The recognition results of the MICR module and the OCR module typically comprise a plurality of character candidates, each including a confidence level. For example, recognition results may comprise the character candidate ‘2’ with a confidence level of ninety-five percent (95%), the character candidate ‘3’ with a confidence level of sixty-five percent (65%), and the character candidate ‘8’ with a confidence level of forty-three percent (43%). The POS device selects the ‘2’ character candidate from the recognition results based on the confidence level.
The recognition results of the OCR module may be used to clarify the recognition results of the MICR module. In one embodiment, if a MICR recognition result for a character is indeterminate, the OCR module's recognition result may be used to clarify the MICR recognition results. For example, if the MICR module recognition results were a ‘8’ character candidate with an eight-four percent (84%) confidence level and a ‘9’ character candidate with a confidence level of eight-two percent (82%), the recognition results may be considered indeterminate. The OCR module's recognition result of the character candidate ‘9’ with a ninety-three percent (93%) confidence level and the character candidate ‘8’ with a forty-eight percent (48%) confidence level may be used to resolve the indeterminate recognition result from MICR module and the select the ‘9’ character candidate.
The MICR module and the OCR module may also have conflicting recognition results. Conflicting recognition results may be caused by fraud. Characters may be fraudulently imprinted on a check in order to mimic a valid financial instrument. For example, characters mimicking bank information may be printed on a blank check. A forger may create a printed check that includes one or more characters in the bank information that cannot be recognized by the MICR module, the OCR module, or both modules.
Unfortunately, the POS device cannot always detect fraud or resolve recognition conflicts with only the recognition results of the MICR module and the OCR module. For example, fraudulent bank information on a check may include anomalies that cause the recognition results of the MICR module and the OCR module to disagree. The POS device may be unable to resolve conflicting recognition results or detect fraud from the recognition result conflict using only the MICR and OCR modules because the POS device is limited to two sets of recognition results.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method that detects fraud using at least three recognition modules. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system, and method would increase the ability of a POS device to detect fraudulent information.